Since his arrival in 2015, Karl-Anthony Townshas not found much success with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Despite emerging as an NBA star, the Wolves haven’t made much progress in becoming a title contender. In fact, for the past decade, the Wolves have been among the worst teams in the league.
But now that’s starting to change, and KAT himself has admitted he’s done putting up empty stats. Here’s what he said after Tuesday’s victory over Charlotte.
“Karl gets great stats but they lose. That’s always been the MO. That’s no more. I want to win. I’ve always wanted to win. But now I’ve got to find ways how to put those stats to translate to winning. I think I’m doing a much better job of that than ever.”
Karl-Anthony Towns:
"Karl gets great stats but they lose. That's always been the MO. That's no more. I want to win. I've always wanted to win. But now I've got to find ways how to put those stats to translate to winning. I think I'm doing a much better job of that than ever."
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) February 16, 2022
Towns has not had it easy over the past few years. The pandemic hit his family hard, and he lost several people that were close to him.
His team was also ravaged by injuries, which limited how much success they saw on the basketball court.
Still, Towns has helped develop a positive culture for the franchise and he has stepped up as a leader in every way imaginable.
“I just want to see my teammates be great,” said Towns. “If I’ve shown anything in my career it’s that I’m able to put my pride to the side in the betterment of others. I love that my teammates — regardless of whether they’re former or current — are doing well. It’s a bond you build, we went to wars together out there, we prepared for these games. There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears for each other and I just want him to see the fruits of his labor and I’m glad that he’s able to see that today.”
Now that his squad is healthy and he’s got the support he needs, the Wolves are having their best season in a while. They are 31-27, 7th in the West, and look to be set up to win for years to come.
Of course, the future will depend on KAT. If he continues to grow and is the player he needs to be, there is no limit to what his team can do going forward.
So far, he seems more than up for the task.
